Ross County and Chillicothe law enforcement, along with members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and representatives from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s office held a press conference late last week announcing the results of a new drug interdiction project called Operation BRIDGE.
The program aims to bridge the gap between law enforcement and recovery and rehabilitation resources. The main thesis of the Operation BRIDGE project is that when it comes to drug offenders “We cannot arrest our way out of this situation.” Instead of arrests, the operation works to enter drug offenders into addiction recovery and rehabilitation.
Over a two-day period, last week, law enforcement officers and recovery specialists teamed up make contact with persons afflicted by addiction or their families. More than 231 contacts were made during the effort, with 11 individuals referred to substance use disorder and treatment programs. Those 11 people represent the usual number of treatment referrals over the course of a month, but these referrals were all made over the two-day interdiction operation.
Ross County Sheriff George Lavender, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, Captain Craig Cvetan with the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Aimee Shadwick with Recovery Ohio, and local treatment professionals gathered for a group photo following Friday's press conference.
Ross County Sheriff George Lavender was one of the members of local law enforcement to deliver remarks at Friday’s press conference.
“The contact that our health department made, and the interdiction they did of just going out and making these contacts, it’s a tremendous effort on their part, and we want to recognize that,” said Sheriff Lavender.
Captain Craig Cvetan of the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol also spoke at Friday’s press conference. He talked about some of the greatest challenges faced by law enforcement in apprehending drug traffickers.
“The fact that the drugs are coming in from everywhere,” said Captain Cvetan. “It’s really hard to cut off those supply lines because they keep move them. When we start to get successful in one area, and pulling drugs out of that area, they’ll move to a different area. It’s very difficult for us to find the patterns and where the drugs are coming in to ultimately intercept them.”
Aimee Shadwick with Recovery Ohio, out of Governor Mike DeWine’s Office, was another speaker at Friday’s press conference. She spoke on how the option to enter into drug treatment is only for those addicted to narcotics. Traffickers she said, will continue to be put behind bars.
“By no means is this a way to say that we aren’t holding drug traffickers accountable,” said Shadwick. “While the interdiction efforts are happening, when it’s very clear that there’s traffickers who are bringing those deadly substances into our communities, those folks are going to be held accountable.”
A local partnership with law enforcement and the Ross County PORT Team also enabled a recent Community Outreach Fair to be held at Chillicothe’s Tabernacle Church. Within the first few minutes of the Outreach Fair, multiple individuals looking for recovery services flowed into the church’s parking lot.
In addition to those helped through the Outreach Fair, the two-day interdiction effort in Ross County yielded the seizure of narcotics, firearms, and the arrest of drug traffickers and violent felons. One of the firearms recovered during the interdiction was an automatic firearm that is believed to be connected with multiple shootings. Another stop made during the interdiction resulted in the seizure of large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cash and additional firearms.
The efforts made through the Operation BRIDGE project will continue to target the sale of narcotics in local communities, and with assistance of the Ross County PORT Team, and its new-found partners in treatment, more residents battling drug addiction will be entered into treatment programs.